


The Frankenstein Fish

by OceansGratitude



Category: Megamind (2010)
Genre: Childhood, Childhood Trauma, Family, Friendship, Gen, Minion-centric, Prison, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-22
Updated: 2019-11-18
Packaged: 2020-12-28 00:50:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21128069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OceansGratitude/pseuds/OceansGratitude
Summary: It had always been Megamind and Minion against the world. They went through everything together, found hope in each other.So, did Megamind design Minion's suit with an override button?





	1. The License Plate Machine

This license plate machine was big, but simple to understand. An engine in the back powered the conveyor belt, which rolled out wide sheets of steel. Then you rearranged the letters and numbers and brought the press down. 

In the daytime, that’s what everyone did. All the cells would be quiet, and there wouldn’t be anybody in the yard except guards. But you could hear the license plate machines whirring and squeaking and booming through the walls no matter where you were. Blue and Minion could hear it in their cell. 

With a huff, Blue threw his Lego dinosaur against the wall. It shattered in a pile of colors. “I’m bored!” he said. 

“Then can we watch Sesame Street now?” asked Minion where he’d been left on the bed. They’d been watching a VCR recording of Transformers for almost an hour, and he didn’t get it. 

“No,” Blue stood up and straightened himself with determination. “I wanna go make license plates with everybody else.” He reached up and jumped to grab the handle of the cell door through the bars and opened it. 

“Take me with you!” Minion yelped, so Blue sighed, and waddled over to help Minion off the bed.

They went straight to the warden’s office. “Look how many push-ups I can do!” Blue yelled. Once he completed five laborious push-ups, he thrust a paper into Warden’s hand. “Look how good a draw-er I am!”

Minion, from the floor, could see the reverse image of a crayon-drawn fish though the paper as Warden lifted it up and smiled.

Minion couldn’t do any push-ups, and his artistry left some to be desired. But no one was looking at him, and if he didn’t speak up now, he would be left alone on the office floor. Jutting out his jaw with determination, Minion shouted, “I know almost all my letters! All the way to P!”

Warden looked past the drawing at Minion. “Oh wow!” He said. He knelt down and grinned. “How high can you count?”

Minion looked at Blue for help. He stood behind Warden and mouthed the numbers. Minion got all the way up to “three-teen.” Then Blue slapped himself in the forehead, and Warden burst out laughing. Minion puffed out his cheeks in frustration.

But Warden told them the rules, who to listen to, and what they weren’t allowed to touch. They promised to be obedient.

The room where they worked was _ full _ of giant machines. They whirred and chugged, and pressed, and all the grown-ups in the entire prison were there, chatting. This must be why the rest of the prison got so quiet during the day. 

Uncle Mike showed them the machine. His brows were pulled down angrily, and he kept looking around at the other adults. Some of them were laughing. “This is your lever,” he told Blue. He pulled it, and the conveyor belt stopped. “That’s what it does. Just pull it when the conveyor belt’s covered in steel.”

“Okay,” said Blue skeptically.

“What’s my job?” Minion asked. 

Mike had wrinkled his nose at him. “You can watch,” he said.

So, Minion watched Blue’s face as he calculated exactly how long to wait before each time he pulled the lever so Uncle Mike to put all his numbers into the press, like slidey little metal cards. Then the machine would chug, chug, chug, and stop, and the machines all around it would fill the silence so it was never quiet, and Minion couldn’t hear what the other grown-ups were saying -- even when they looked over at Blue, grinning or glaring. 

It was like watching a movie, except there were more people than he’d ever seen in one place, and they were all people he knew, and everyone was ignoring him. Uncle Mike had a dark look, different than Minion had ever seen him, and Minion kept his mouth shut.

While Uncle Mike was sliding in numbers, Blue turned to Minion. “I had my fingers crossed when we promised Warden,” He whispered. “Let’s make something out of these license plates. I know where tools are.”

When Blue decided things like that, Minion didn’t really get to choose what came next. Just like how he couldn’t even pull any levers himself, could only watch the machines chug, chug, chug.

“How about a bike?” Minion said. 

The next time Mike got distracted, Blue snatched Minion’s bowl and as many license plates as he could and ran. He knew where he was going; there was a little storage room next door.

It was dark inside, but Blue wasn't quite tall enough to turn on the lights. He set Minion down and dropped the plates, sticking his binky in his mouth-- the one he’d had as long as he could remember, which had always cast blue light and stark shadows onto the walls. They would have to do their work on the floor. 

The sounds of voices and machines came through the walls and echoed in the space. They knew when a press had just come down in the other room because it vibrated the table, and the little screws in little plastic cases made buzzing sounds.

The blowtorch, the hammer, the screwdriver, and all the little screws were laying around a table. And there was a bag of cat food in there, but they weren’t hungry enough for that yet. Minion found some goggles on the floor, and Blue snapped them on with a huge dimpled smile and began drawing plans in his notebook. 

“No one likes working in there, Minion!” said Blue. “We’re kids, so we can go back to our cell whenever we want. But the guards don’t let the grown-ups leave.”

“Yeah, so?”

“So!” Blue flipped his notebook up so Minion could see what he’d drawn. Since the glowing binky was on Blue’s side, all Minion could see was the rectangular shadow of the notebook, like a new moon. “What if we made a bike that could get them out!”

Minion turned his head to see the drawing better, but it was still dark. “I think we’ll get in trouble,” he said.

“No we won’t,” said Blue. Then he put on his goggles and readied the hammer. 

Blue pounded, welded, and pulled each plate into place, and Minion watched from his bowl. The surface below him bounced with every impact, and the room still vibrated with the occasional sound of the press on the other side of the wall. Blue didn’t mind.

Even though Blue was still a little kid, he shaped his vision with sureness, his eyes wide and focused. Sometimes he’d step off and squint to look at it. In those moments, Minion would try to roll around and meet his eyes. Most of the time, Blue didn’t notice.

Finally, he took the binky out of his mouth and slipped it into the mount he’d drilled into the handlebars. “This is how we’re going to break down the wall,” he said with a grin.

“We’re breaking the _ wall? _” Minion squeaked. He didn’t know what happened when you broke down walls, but breaking things was usually bad. “C-can I ride on the bike with you?”

Blue scoffed, “No, Minion. There’s only one seat.”

And when Blue rode his bike back into the workroom, everything exploded. No one pulled the levels to stop the machines, and steel sheets spilled off the conveyor belts. All the grown-ups started grinning and cheering and running, and letters and numbers scattered. Some clattered against Minion’s bowl and knocked him to the side.

_ I won’t get lost! _ Minion grit his teeth with determination, pushing hard on the side of his bowl to overcome a pile of plates. _ I have to stay close to Blue! _

A splash of blue blasted the wall out of the way, the grown-ups ran out into the sunlight. Blue grinned after them, triumph lighting his face. Minion’s bowl started picking up a layer of gritty dust.

The sunlight that had traveled lightyears to touch the earth didn’t reach Blue and Minion. It was blocked by a tall shadow. The guards spread out, yelling and drawing guns. Minion heard banging shots and barking dogs.

Minion felt his eyes burning and his gills curling. With the dust still settling, Minion hardly see Blue’s expression as he looked up with wide eyes. 

“Get off the tricycle.” said the warden. “_ Now.” _

The warden grabbed Blue’s elbow and marched him inside so fast Blue could hardly keep his feet on the ground, growling quietly into his ear as they went. Minion couldn’t make out the words, but he gasped and followed, pushing against the momentum of the water that surrounded him. 

Between Blue’s even breaths and the blankets bunched up around his shoulders, the water was too hot. Minion held his tongue out of his mouth as he peered out of the foggy glass. There wasn’t much room to roll out from under Blue’s arm without falling off the bed.

Blue’s face squished up against the glass, still shiny from crying. 

If this had been another night where Blue had gotten in trouble by himself, Minion would be crying too. But this time, the bike had been Minion’s idea. It felt right to be in trouble together.

Out in the hallway, Minion heard keys-- a lot of keys. The footsteps were too loud and sharp to be the cleaning lady. “Hey!” whispered Minion. “Warden! Is that you?”

The warden was tall and angular, so Minion knew who he was even in the dark. He paused just beyond the steel bars that separated their cell from the hallway. 

“Yeah,” Warden whispered back.

“Do you still love Blue?” Minion asked. 

Minion could see only the edge of Warden’s face, lit by the distant green glow of a hallway light and distorted by the fog of Blue’s breath on Minion’s bowl. “Of course I do,” he said.

“Okay,” said Minion. “Good. Me too.”

He heard Warden chuckle and walk away. “Goodnight, Minion.”

Minion could just barely slip his bowl out from under Blue’s arm as he rolled to follow Warden’s movement through the metal bars. He teetered dangerously on the edge of the bed until he could roll back. “Wait,” he whispered. “Do you love me, too?”

He didn’t think the warden heard him. His keys jingled, and his footsteps echoed down the hallway lit only by a green exit sign that was too far away to see. 


	2. Megamind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blue isn't his name anymore.

The warden had invited Megamind into his office as soon as the bus came back from school, four hours earlier than usual. Megamind, still in his orange jumpsuit covered in blue powder, his hands still cuffed from the ride back from school, had sat in the usual plastic chair. The warden had pulled his black-wheely one out from behind his desk; and from behind his “Isaac Shapard” nameplate, the family photos, and the weird little dippy-bird toy that had bobbed up and down on his desk for as long as Megamind could remember.

“Mrs. Spotnik isn’t going to have you in her class anymore,” the warden had said. He folded his arms and looked intensely into Megamind’s eyes. Megamind glared at the floor. “Because explosives --_ Blue, look at me.” _Megamind glared up at him. Warden chewed on his lip only a second before continuing. “--explosives are not a joke. Someone could have gotten really hurt.”

“No one got hurt,” Megamind bit back. Then, in a softer voice he muttered, “and even if someone _ did _ get hurt, that would have been the point.”

Then like a shot, the warden grabbed Megamind by the shoulders. A yelp blurted out of Megamind’s mouth as he was yanked close. He grabbed the warden’s wrists, scooting his chair backward, but the warden didn’t let him go.

“Blue! No! You-!” Megamind watched the man’s face turn red. He was gritting his teeth like it could get _ him _ out of prison. Megamind felt a knot in his stomach. “You blew it, Blue,” said the warden. “It was _ so hard _ getting you into school. It was so…”

He let go. Megamind crossed his arms over himself as the warden stood up, breathing heavily, running his hands over his face. He looked at Megamind in a way that was sad and tired-- the way he sometimes did-- and he took his chair back to the other side of the desk. It was safer with the “Isaac Shapard” nameplate and the family photos standing between them.

“I don’t want to go to school,” Megamind said quietly like he had many times before. 

“Yeah,” The warden shook his head and looked at his hands. Megamind wanted to be anywhere but here, but now he couldn’t tear his eyes from the warden leaned forward again, resting his elbows on the desk. “Well, now you _ can’t. _ Mrs. Spotnik says you’re a danger to her students.”

Megamind had planned what to say. But now, heart still pounding, it was scary. His voice was quiet. “She’s right.”

“No! She’s not!” The warden slammed his palms on the desk, and Megamind jumped. “You’re a good kid! We’ve been working on this! You were doing so good! Sure, the kids are mean to ya. sure the teacher thinks you’re some kind of monster or some crap. It’s--”

_ I know they think that, _ but when the warden said it, Megamind’s breath hitched. _ I didn’t think they were right, but they were. _

“It’s _ hard!” _ said the warden. “It sucks! I’m sorry you’ve had to go through that! But we’ve talked about how you’re not what they say you are. You’re supposed to prove them _ wrong!” _

“They’re _ not _wrong,” said Megamind.

The warden’s voice died on his lips with a scoff, and he leaned back in his chair. Megamind swallowed, blinked his eyes, squared his shoulders as the warden watched him. “Why?” he asked, with the toss of an open palm. “What makes you say that?”

Megamind had to clamp his mouth shut for a moment; swallow and try to inhale steadily. “Because,” he said. “I’m not good at being good. I’m good at being bad.”

“That’s not a thing.”

“Apparently it is!” Megamind stood and gestured to the blue powder on his jumpsuit. “It is. Just look at me. Warden, _ look! _”

The warden looked at him, his eyebrows pulled together in a point. Megamind’s heart was racing. The blue powder was all over his suit, and all over his face. 

His blue face. He brought the same gesturing hand up to his head. It was too tall, too round, too smooth, and Blue had spent hours horrified by it. “Just _ look _ at me. _ ” _

The warden was leaning forward, his hands brought up to his mouth. “Um, yeah,” he said. “You’re an alien.”

“So’s _ Wayne Scott! _” Megamind spat the name out like a viper. The enemy. It felt good to have an enemy. “Who cares about being an alien? I’m supposed to be a bad guy. I’m supposed to be a villain.”

“A _ villain? _ ” The warden threw his hands up in the air. “Blue, _ what? _”

“Don’t call me Blue anymore! I’m Megamind now!”

“Meg-?” The warden stood up. “Have you gone absolutely batshit _ crazy? _”

With every bit of air his body could absorb, Megamind screamed, “YES!!”

The office door opened with the crackling sound of old insulation, and a guard leaned in. “Um,” he said. “Ya’ll good?”

“Would you please!” The warden didn’t break eye contact with Megamind as he gestured with a straight arm toward the guard. “Take this boy back to his cell until _ whatever the hell has possessed him _ passes over?”

“THAT’LL TAKE A _ LOOOONG _TIME!” roared Megamind. The guard hurried to yank him around by the shoulder. It wasn’t one of Megamind’s usual escorts, so he forgot the chains hanging from Megamind’s wrists, and they scaped the floor behind them.

“Sure it will!” shouted the warden after them. “Bye, Blue!”

  
  


“Can you turn my page?” Minion whispered. The shadows on the walls of the cell shifted as Blue got up on his elbows and reached over to comply. The glass binky in his mouth cast a blue light that allowed them to study after lights-out. He had an old college textbook about animal biology. Minion had a picture book.

“What’s this letter?” whispered Minion.

“That’s a Y.”

“What does it say?”

“Ya.”

Minion sounded out the word. Ya-e-l-ow. Yellow? Yellow bee. The yellow bee sat on a fl-ow-er. The bu-tt-ehr-fl… ya?

“Bluuueee!” Minion whined.

“That’s not my name anymore!” Blue hissed. He hunched his head over his book, which blocked the light from Minion.

“I can’t see!”

Huffing, Blue took the binky out of his mouth and set it on the floor between them. Their shadows were cast on the ceiling, and Minion observed the effect of the light shining through his spherical bowl. It shone through his fins, giving softer shadows.

“I can see my bones,” said Minion, mystified.

Blue glanced at him, and then followed his gaze up to the ceiling. “Cool,” He said. He went back to his book, pulling his knees closer to his chest. 

Every time Minion tried to focus through the glass on the letters in his book, his eyes wanted to cross. Instead, he watched Blue. Every time a guard crossed by in the hallway, Blue tensed up. His heavy textbook --its cover had jellyfish on it--covered up his face. But Minion could see little wrinkles in his tall forehead. 

“Why isn’t Blue your name anymore?” Minion asked in a quiet voice.

Megamind huffed and didn’t answer. 

“Do I have to call you Megamind, too?” Minion whispered. “I don’t like it.”

With a bang, Megamind dropped his textbook onto the concrete floor, and Minion puffed up. A puff of air thrust ball-point sketches of brainbots and robot bodies in every direction. The open page had photos and drawings of anglerfish with wide eyes and open mouths. 

Megamind scrubbed tears out of his eyes and glared at Minion. He said, “Call me _ sir, _then.”


End file.
